Victorian Current Acts Victorian Current Acts(1) In this section—
"creditor" means a person entitled to take proceedings for the recovery of expenses and includes a legal practitioner who has paid expenses on behalf of a client;
"expenses" means expenses for a treatment or other service provided in respect of which assistance is payable under this Act but does not include costs referred to in section 48;
"reasonable", in relation to expenses, means reasonable having regard to the treatment or other service provided.
(2) The Tribunal may order that assistance in respect of expenses be paid to the creditor.
(3) If the Tribunal believes that the amount of expenses is reasonable and orders payment to the creditor under subsection (2), the creditor may recover from the debtor the difference between the amount ordered and the amount of the expenses.
(4) If the Tribunal believes that the amount of expenses is not reasonable, it may make an order determining the amount it considers reasonable.
(5) If the Tribunal makes an order under subsection (4) in respect of expenses—
(a) assistance payable in respect of the expenses must not exceed 80% of the amount determined by the Tribunal;
(b) if the expenses have not been paid—
(i) unless the creditor is a legal practitioner who has paid the full amount of the expenses on behalf of a client, the creditor is not entitled to recover more than the amount determined by the Tribunal;
(ii) if the creditor is a legal practitioner who has paid the full amount of the expenses on behalf of a client, the difference between the amount determined by the Tribunal and the amount paid may be recovered by the legal practitioner on behalf of the client as a civil debt recoverable summarily from the person to whom payment was made;
(iii) the creditor is not prevented by this Act from recovering the balance of the amount determined by the Tribunal remaining after a payment ordered by the Tribunal;
(c) if the expenses have been paid, the amount of payment in excess of the amount determined by the Tribunal is recoverable as a civil debt recoverable summarily from the person to whom payment was made.